The Soul Behind Bending
by Mysterious1 97
Summary: Imagine a world where the art of bending can be turned into an absorb able substance, the avatar is not the only one with control over all elements and a soul is no longer confined to one person. Kataang


**Authors Notes: **Do not worry I will finish War may never End but this story has been on my mind for a long time and I needed to get it out there. I hope you like it.

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The young bald monk had many names. Our Savior, Deserter, Peace Bringer, Destroyer of our time but most of all he was known as the Avatar or Aang, the name that he truly preferred. At the moment he was not feeling like much of a Savior or Bringer of peace or any kind of fancy title. His gaze shifted about and he let out another irretated sigh.

"Katara." He said. The Waterbender turned her gaze to meet the young Airbender's stormy gray eyes. "Do you see anything yet?" She let out a sigh and his morale fell further. "No." She replied. "I haven't seen any signs of Toph or Sokka. I'm starting to get worried." Her voice took a saddened tone as she spoke of the two missing companions.

His gaze once again fell to the soft grass. It felt hopeless that they would ever find the two again. They had been searching for hours, since they were separated, and their bodies were growing weak and tired from walking in the heat of the blazing sun.

The aftermath of storms was always horrible. It left a feeling of gloom, grayness and an odd lifeless feeling about, not to mention, when the clouds disappeared and the sun once again blazed in the sky, burning at their skin in with a greater intensity than before. The storm that Toph and Sokka had disappeared in was no different.

The monk's thoughts fell into a feeling of mystery. He wanted to know how they had disappeared right under their noses. They were walking down an old dirt road, surrounded by a large amount of vegitation that seemed to tower above them, creating a wonderful shade that blocked out the sun. Not to mention the refreshing breeze that flowed down the path but that was beside the point.

The storm began but the plants provided a good cover from the falling beads of water, so, there was no need for Katara to bend the water. Although a few drops of water fell through the thick brush it only felt like a light rain beneath the trees. He had closed his eyes for just a moment and made a comment about the rain.

"It feels good doesn't it." "Yes, it does." Katara had replied and he turned to look at her smiling face and could not help but stare, as the small beads of water trickled down her beautiful figure. Before he became infatuated with the sight he inquired the others opinions. "Don't you agree guys..." but there was no response.

His gaze shifted to where the two should have been but... they were gone, disappeared with the wind. It was possible that someone had grabbed them from the bushes but there was no sound... They could of simply fallen behind but they would of caught up...

What mystified him further is that, not only had the two companions disappeared but so had Oppa., as well as Momo. He had left them back in a city to be taken care of for awhile, because they needed to lay low and could not risk flying or being revealed by Momo's mischevious behavior, but when he blew the whistle... They never showed up.

Aang let out another irratated sigh. This was a fine mess. He brought his gaze to his surroundings but that only made things worse. As far as he could see there was nothing... It was just a simple open field with a few scattered trees, absolutely no one in sight. "Do you think we will find them." Her sweet voice shook him from his thoughts.

His gaze met the Waterbenders ice blue eyes. He could not help but admire her beauty and at times he wished he could finally unleash his secret but... it was just a dream, a dream that would never enter reality and something that he had learned to deal with.

She was grasping at a spark of hope and she always found the Airbenders words comforting, even if they were simply lies to protect her, she admired them. "I hope so." He replied bringing a warm smile to the Waterbenders face.

He watched as the smile graced her lips and he could not help but feel proud of himself. He loved bringing a smile to her face or bringing out the joyful tone in her voice that he adored. Before he knew it, he found himself smiling back and staring deeply into her eyes, unable to avert his gaze but he did not need to.

It was ripped from her eyes as something tore across the back of his neck and his entire body went numb. He fell face first to the ground, grunting in pain as he collided with the hard soil. He soon found out he could still speak, when a few words left his mouth that he did not wish to repeat...

He attempted to turn his head to the side and see what just pissed him off... Unfortunetly he was stuck and he could only move his eyes and his mouth. "Surprising." A voice entered his senses or what remained of them and it echoed with sarcasm and dullness, as if doing this job bored her to death. "I never expected to hear that from a twelve year old but they did say the Avatar was full of surprises." He flared with anger and for just a moment, wished he could still enter his Avatar state.

That was pushed aside as another thought overwhelmed his anger. "What did you do with Katara." He demanded. He could hear a mumbled voice mutter something inadiable and assumed that was her, which only fueled his rage further. "Don't worry your girlfriend is safe and sound." Oh yes he was definetly pissed now... He nearly screamed in rage but a voice in the back of his head calmed him down.

"So, you must have been the one who kidnapped Toph and Sokka." He managed to let out, attempting to hold back his anger. "No, I was only paid to get this girl. I have no knowledge as to what happened to your other friends." Her very voice seemed to cause him to itch with rage and once again he had to hold back his anger. "It was nice meeting you Avatar." She said. "My sister told me many things about you and I hope we meet again."

Sister... that word rang in the Airbender's mind and he thought back as far as he could, grasping at any thought or idea of any one who he met in the past that was like this. Then it hit him like a brick. June! That would explain the instant numbing of his body... This kind of wound could only be caused by a Sheer-Shu, something that June was so fond of. The odd beast that looked as if its nose was turned inside out.

"Ok, we have the girl now lets get out of here." She said. Obviously there were more of them but if they rode atop beasts or followed as mercenaries was a mystery but at the moment, thoughts like that were torn from the monk's mind. The sight of a very large, leaf like tail confirmed his theory but that was almost unnoticeable as another sight caught his eye.

Tears, small beads of water that did not fall from the sky but from her eyes. He felt a deeper anger than he thought possible for the kidnapper at the sight of Katara in tears. "I promise you." He managed to choke out. "I will save you. So, for now just stay calm." He could of sworn he saw her face brighten but he saw a lot of things, when her voice echoed with something along the lines of.

"Awww how sweet." For just a moment he held in his hatred but as soon as he felt that the kidnapper was far enough away. He screamed into the silence, shaking with rage and tears trickled down his face. He fell from anger into regret or perhaps another form of anger. The tears fell freely from his eyes as demeaning thoughts swirled in his mind. He blamed himself for the situation and once again she was in danger but this time he could do nothing but lie there and wallow in his anger and regret.

On top of everything, darkness suddenly enveloped his vision. He felt something being tied behind his head and assumed he was blindfolded. He was in no mood to resist even if he wanted to, so, he silently allowed himself to be taken.

"You sure are quiet." A voice said, it sounded deep and confident. "Usually our prisoners squirm and try to get free before we take them." The monk let out a low chuckle. "I have nothing to struggle for." He said. This time the stranger chuckled. The monk felt something being tied around his hands probably rope.

"I guess you have no idea who we are or that we have your two friends." The Avatar's eyes widened in shock but he kept a calm profile. "Well you are about to take me to them. So, why should I struggle." The stranger chuckled again.

"Well you got a point there but you will be tortured along with them, so, it makes no difference." Tortured was the only word he heard out of that sentence. He felt his boiling anger returning but pressed it back down. He felt his feet being bound together in the same fashion as his hands. "I hope you took good care of them while I was away."

"You are one strange kid." The stranger said as he hoisted the Avatar over his shoulders, putting him in a rather uncomfortable position. Aang could feel as the wind sped by him at a greater speed and hoped that he could at least save them...

...

Minutes passed and it felt as though hours passed but it was probably no more than ten minutes. Now he was placed on some form of floor and his back rested against a rough wall. The blindfold was removed from his eyes and a mysterious sight met his gaze. He was in a very small room completely made out of wood, very uncomfortable and chipped wood at that. A small light that burned from a candle illumenated the room in a light red hue.

There was the man who kidnapped him to his right. Dressed in the outfit that the archers he had encountered previously were and an elderly man that stood before him. He was dressed a little more ceremoniously. He wore a long white robe that covered his feet and wore a ceremonial type crown atop his head.

"Welcome Avatar." His voice shook the dark silence that encased the small room. It did not sound like a normal voice instead it seemed to echo with the voices of others, as if people were trapped within him. Apparently there was no need for introductions... "Who are you and what have you done with my friends?" The bald monk questioned anger apparent in his voice.

The archer readied an arrow and pointed it at the Avatar's head. "Silence, that is not how you address our King." The Airbender sweat dropped. "Calm yourself Marek." He commanded his voice booming off the walls. He lowered his bow and dropped to one knee. "I apologize my King." He said.

"You know my name is Emerl. So, why do you call me King." The king questioned. "Because I thought it was forbidden to utter your gracious name among strangers and you are our King. 'Gracious.' The monk held back a chuckle. "Yes, but this is no stranger... This is the Avatar and I am sure he would love to know of our civilization in the trees, including the various...experiments that we conduct here." The elderly man's voice shook with a hint of malice around when he mentioned experiments.

Aang's stomach turned with worry at the thought of what kind of experiments he was speaking of...

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Yep that has been on my mind for a long time and I was just itching to release it so tell me what you think. R&R


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